Reviewing the Journey: Numbers 33

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Reviewing the Journey: Numbers 33 Reviewing the Journey: Numbers 33 במדבר ל״ג:א׳-ב׳ Numbers 33:1-2 .1 These were the marches of the Israelites ֜ ֵא ֶלּה ַמ ְס ֵ֣עי ְב ֵנֽי־יִ ְשׂ ָר ֗ ֵאל ֲא ֶ֥שׁר יָ ְצ ֛אוּ ֵמ ֶ֥א ֶרץ ,who started out from the land of Egypt ִמ ְצ ַ֖ריִם ְל ִצ ְבא ֹ ָ֑תם ְבּיַד־מ ֹ ֶ֖שׁה וְאַ ֲה ֽר ֹן׃ וַיִּ ְכ ֨תּ ֹב troop by troop, in the charge of Moses and מ ֹ ֜ ֶשׁה ֶאת־מוֹ ָצ ֵאי ֶ֛הם ְל ַמ ְס ֵעי ֶ֖הם ַעל־ ִ֣פּי ה' Aaron. Moses recorded the starting points of וְ ֵ֥א ֶלּה ַמ ְס ֵעי ֶ֖הם ְלמוֹ ָצ ֵאי ֶ ֽהם׃ their various marches as directed by the LORD. Their marches, by starting points, were as follows: רש"י על במדבר ל״ג:א׳ Rashi on Numbers 33:1 .2 (א) אלה מסעי. ָל ָמּה נִ ְכ ְתּבוּ ַה ַמּ ָסּעוֹת THESE ARE THE JOURNEYS אלה מסעי (1) ַה ָלּלוּ? ְלהוֹ ִדי ַע ֲח ָס ָדיו ֶשׁל ָמקוֹם, ֶשׁאַ ַע" ִפּ — [STAGES) [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL) ֶשׁ ָגּ ַזר ֲע ֵלי ֶהם ְל ַט ְל ְט ַלם וְ ַל ֲהנִי ָעם ַבּ ִמּ ְד ָבּר, Why are these stations recorded here? In א ת ֹא ַמר ֶשׁ ָהיוּ נָ ִעים וּ ְמ ֻט ְל ָט ִלים ִמ ַמּ ָסּע order to make known the loving acts of the Omnipresent: that although He had decreed ְל ַמ ָסּע ָכּל אַ ְר ָבּ ִעים ָשׁנָה וְא ָהיְ ָתה ָל ֶהם against them to make them move about and ְמנוּ ָחה, ֶשׁ ֲה ֵרי ֵאין ָכּאן ֶא ָלּא אַ ְר ָבּ ִעים וּ ְשׁ ַתּיִם wander in the wilderness, you should not ַמ ָסּעוֹת, ֵצא ֵמ ֶהם י"ד ֶשׁ ֻכּ ָלּם ָהיוּ ְבּ ָשׁנָה think that they wandered and moved about ִראשׁוֹנָה קֹ ֶדם ְגּ ֵז ָרה, ִמ ֶשּׁנָּ ְסעוּ ֵמ ַר ְע ְמ ֵסס ַעד without cessation from one station to ֶשׁ ָבּאוּ ְל ִר ְת ָמה ֶשׁ ִמּ ָשּׁם נִ ְשׁ ַתּ ְלּחוּ ְמ ַר ְגּ ִלים, another station all the forty years, and that ֶשׁנֶּ ֱא ַמר "וְאַ ַחר נָ ְסעוּ ָה ָעם ֵמ ֲח ֵצרוֹת" וְגוֹ' they had no rest, for you see that there are here only forty-two stages. Deduct from (במדבר י"ב), " ְשׁ ַלח ְל ֲאנָ ִשׁים" וְגוֹ' (שם them fourteen, all of which were their י"ג), וְ ָכאן (פסוק י"ח) הוּא אוֹ ֵמר "וַיִּ ְסעוּ stopping places in the first year after they ֵמ ֲח ֵצר ֹת וַיַּ ֲחנוּ ְבּ ִר ְת ָמה", ָל ַמ ְד ָתּ ֶשׁ ִהיא ,.left Egypt, before the decree was made, viz ְב ִמ ְד ַבּר ָפּא ָרן; וְעוֹד הוֹ ֵצא ִמ ָשּׁם ח' ַמ ָסּעוֹת from the time when they journeyed from ֶשׁ ָהיוּ ְלאַ ַחר ִמי ַתת אַ ֲהר ֹן — ֵמהֹר ָה ָהר ַעד Rameses until when they came to Rithmah whence the spies were sent out — as it is ַע ְרבוֹת מוֹאָב — ִבּ ְשׁנַת ָהאַ ְר ָבּ ִעים, נִ ְמ ָצא said. (Numbers 12:16): “And afterwards the ֶשׁ ָכּל ְשׁמוֹנֶה וּ ְשׁ ִשׁים ָשׁנָה א נָ ְסעוּ ֶא ָלּא people journeyed from Hazeroth, [and ֶע ְשׂ ִרים ַמ ָסּעוֹת, ֶזה ִמיסוֹדוֹ ֶשׁל ַר ִבּי מ ֹ ֶשׁה. ,[encamped in the wilderness of Paran וְ ַר ִבּי ַתנְחוּ ָמא ָד ַרשׁ בּוֹ ְדּ ָר ָשׁה אַ ֶח ֶרת: ָמ ָשׁל ,whereupon the Lord said unto Moses ְל ֶמ ֶל ֶשׁ ָהיָה ְבנוֹ חוֹ ֶלה וְהוֹ ִליכוֹ ְל ָמקוֹם ָרחוֹק Numbers 13:2) "Send thee men [who may) ְל ַרפּ ֹאתוֹ, ֵכּיוָן ֶשׁ ָהיוּ חוֹ ְז ִרין ִה ְת ִחיל אָ ִביו search out the land]”; and here (v. 18) it מוֹנֶה ָכל ַה ַמּ ָסּעוֹת, אָ ַמר לוֹ, ָכּאן יָ ַשׁנְנוּ, ָכּאן states, “and they journeyed from Hazeroth הוֹ ַק ְרנוּ ָכּאן ָח ַשׁ ְשׁ ָתּ ֶאת ר ֹא ְשׁ וְכוּ and they encamped in Rithmah”, so you learn that it (Rithmah) is in the wilderness of :' , Paran. — Further deduct from them the eight stages which were after Aaron’s death viz., those from Mount Hor to the plains of Moab in the fourtieth year (v. 38). It follows that during the whole of the thirty eight years they made only twenty journeys. This is excerpted from the work of R. Moses the Preacher. — R. Tanchuma gave another explanation of it (of the question why these stages are here recorded). A parable! It may be compared to the case of a king whose son was ill and whom he took to a distant place to cure him. When they returned home the father began to enumerate all the stages, saying to him, “Here we slept, here we caught cold, here you had the head-ache, etc.” (Midrash Tanchuma 4:10:3). 3. Moses Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed With reference to such passage, I will first state a general principle and then proceed to discuss them separately … Every narrative in the Torah serves a certain purpose in connection with religious teaching. It either helps to establish a principle of faith, or to regulate our actions, and to prevent wrong and injustice among men ... When we therefore come across narratives in the Torah which have no connection with any of the commandments, we are inclined to think that they are entirely superfluous, or too lengthy, or repetitious; but this is only because we do not see the particular details which make those narratives noteworthy. Of this kind is the enumeration of the stations of the Israelites in the wilderness. At first sight, it appears to be entirely useless. To remove such a misconception the Torah states: "And Moses wrote their goings forth, stage by stage, by the commandment of the Lord." It was indeed most necessary that these should be recorded. For miracles are only convincing to those who witnessed them; coming generations, who know them only at second hand may consider them as figments of the imagination ... Now the greatest of all miracles in the Torah is the stay of the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years with a daily supply of manna. This wilderness as described in the Torah consisted of places "wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions and drought, where there was no water;" places very remote from cultivated land and naturally not adapted for the habitation of man.... All these phenomena were miraculous and public. But God knew that in future people might doubt the authenticity of these miracles ... In order to remove all these doubts, and to establish firmly the accuracy of the account of these miracles, the Torah enumerates all the stations, so that coming generations may see them, and learn the greatness of the miracle which enabled human beings to live in these places forty years. 4. Rabbi Shai Held, The Heart of Torah, Volume 2 We are often tempted to think that one of the many things we do is "real life," while everything else represents a distraction or - at best - a means of facilitating the activities we really value: Our work is what's essential, and everything else is at best a diversion and at worst a distraction. Or our family is what's essential, and everything else is at best a diversion and at worst a distraction. Or any one of a thousand other things is what is significant; none of our other endeavors really matters - and certainly not in any ultimate way. .... A talmudic teaching suggests a different point of view: "Bar Kappara expounded: What short text is there upon which all the essential principles of Torah depend? 'In all your ways know God, and God will make your paths smooth' (Prov 3:6)" (BT, Berakhot 63a) … Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) puts forward an ... interpretation of what it means to know God in all our ways...: "the truth is that there is nothing in the world that is not for the honor of the Blessed Holy One, hence everything one does will be according to God's commandment and will - and in each action one should search for God..." We serve God, in other words, by being fully present wherever we are … Numbers 33 lists 42 places, some of them seemingly eminently forgettable, to teach a subtle but critical lesson: We can know God, and serve God, at every stop along our way. 5. Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev, Kedushat Levi, commentary by Rabbi Jonathan Slater Among the forty-two journeys that Israel journed it says, "They encamped in Haradah" (Num. 33:24), "they encamped in Mithkah" (v. 38), "they encamped at Mount Shepher" (v. 23). When Israel camped in a location at which were located debased fears (may the Merciful preserve us), they would then serve the blessed One with fear of God's exaltedness, trembling before God's awesomeness and glorious power. Thus, it says, "they encamped in Haradah [in trembling fear]," that is, the quality of fear, and they there had to serve the blessed Creator with that quality. And when they encamped in a place at which was found debased love that had fallen in the original shattering, they would then serve God with true love. Thus, it says, "they encamped in Mithkah [sweetness]," in the quality of love. So also, "they encamped at Mount Shepher [beauty]," in the quality of beauty. In this manner, they would raise up all the sparks that had fallen there, to their source, to the source of holiness. This was the primary purpose of Israel's travels in the wilderness. This is why Moses used the term "starting points" (motza'eihem, related to the word for "bringing out" and "finding"): this refers to the process of raising the sparks that they found and bringing them out from their husks.
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